PURPOSE: Academic stress profoundly affects students' mental health and well-being, often contributing to student attrition. While much research focuses on Western universities, higher education in Slovakia and the Czech Republic remains underexplored in this context. This study aimed to identify sources of academic stress, examine coping strategies, and explore aspects supporting or hindering well-being among university students in these countries. METHOD: Eleven semi-structured interviews with students from Slovak and Czech universities were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Seven also kept weekly diaries over five months, enabling chronological tracking of stress and coping. Content analysis revealed five themes tied to semester periods and showing how stressors and coping shifted over time. RESULTS: Key stressors included exams, procrastination, time management, and balancing academic work, and leisure commitments. Coping strategies ranged from organizational skills to maladaptive behaviors like substance use and social withdrawal. Protective conditions included supportive environments, innovative teaching methods, and recognition of stress. DISCUSSION: Study highlights the importance of addressing academic stress and provides one of the first longitudinal qualitative accounts from Slovak and Czech universities, combining interviews and diaries to capture culturally specific and universal stressors, coping fluctuations, and the need for integrated institutional and personal strategies.

Institute of Applied Psychology Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences Comenius University Bratislava Slovakia

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Adler, A., Unanue, W., Osin, E. N., Ricard, M., Alkire, S., & Seligman, M. (2017).

Ang, R. P., & Huan, V. S. (2006). Relationship between academic stress and suicidal ideation: Testing for depression as a mediator using multiple regression. PubMed DOI

Araoz, E. G. E., Giersch, L. V., Martínez, J. C. V., Latorre, M. F., Condori, W. G. L., & Peralta, J. N. P. (2022). Academic stress and emotional exhaustion in university students in the context of virtual education, DOI

Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. PubMed DOI

Asif, S., Mudassar, A., Shahzad, T. Z., Raouf, M., & Pervaiz, T. (2020). Frequency of depression, anxiety and stress among university students. PubMed DOI PMC

Azila-Gbettor, E. M., Atatsi, E. A., Danku, L. S., & Soglo, N. Y. (2015). Stress and academic achievement: Empirical evidence of business students in a Ghanaian polytechnic.

Banu, P., Deb, S., Vishnuvardhan, & Padi, T. R. (2015). Perceived academic stress among university students across gender, academic streams, semester and academic. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277403702_Perceived_Academic_Stress_among_University_Students_across_Gender_Academic_Streams_Semester_and_Academic_ Performance

Barker, E. T., Howard, A. A., Villemaire-Krajden, R., & Galambos, N. L. (2018). The rise and fall of depressive symptoms and academic stress in two samples of university 81 students. PubMed DOI

Baumgartner, F., & Frankovský, M. (1997). K problémom zisťovania stratégií riešenia náročných situácií.

Bayram, N., & Bilgel, N. (2008). The prevalence and socio-demographic correlations of depression, anxiety and stress among a group of university students. PubMed DOI

Ben-Zur, H., & Zeidner, M. (2012). Appraisals, Coping and Affective and Behavioral Reactions to Academic Stressors. Psychology, 3(9), 713–721. 10.4236/psych.2012.39108 DOI

Bolger, N., Davis, A., & Rafaeli, E. (2003). Diary methods: Capturing life as it is lived. PubMed DOI

Brailovskaia, J., Schönfeld, P., Zhang, X. C., Bieda, A., Kochetkov, Y., & Margraf, J. (2018). A cross-cultural study in Germany, Russia, and China: Are resilient and social supported students protected against depression, anxiety, and stress? PubMed DOI

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. DOI

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013).

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021).

Budge, S. L., Domínguez, S. Jr, & Goldberg, A. E. (2020). Minority stress in nonbinary students in higher education: The role of campus climate and belongingness. DOI

Busari, A. O. (2014). Academic stress among undergraduate students: Measuring the effects of stress inoculation techniques. DOI

Canadian Association of College and University Student Services & Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health. (. 2019). Stepped care: A guide for post-secondary institutions. https://campusmentalhealth.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Stepped-Care-Guide-V13.pdf

Chan, C. K. Y. (2024). “Exploring the factors of AI guilt” among students -- Are you guilty of using AI in your homework? arXiv (Cornell University). 10.48550/arxiv.2407.10777 DOI

Chrzan-Rodak, A., Bąk, J., Chałdaś-Majdańska, J., Machul, M., Obuchowska, A., Grzegorczyk, A., Dziurka, M., Ozdoba, P., & Dobrowolska, B. (2024). Health-related behaviours of foreign students studying in Poland and their determinants: A mixed-methods study. PubMed DOI PMC

Długosz, P., & Liszka, D. (2021). The relationship between mental health, educational burnout and strategies for coping with stress among students: A cross-sectional study of Poland. PubMed DOI PMC

Dziegielewski, S. F., Turnage, B. F., & Roest-Marti, S. (2004). Addressing stress with social work students: A controlled evaluation. DOI

Erlingsson, C., & Brysiewicz, P. (2017). A hands-on guide to doing content analysis. PubMed DOI PMC

European University Association. (2024). Student mental health across Europe: towards a public mental health approach. EUA Expert Voice article. https://www.eua.eu/our-work/expert-voices/the-students-are-not-ok.html

Franzoi, I. G., Sauta, M. D., Carnevale, G., & Granieri, A. (2022). Student counseling centers in Europe: A retrospective analysis. PubMed DOI PMC

Friese, S. (2012). DOI

Fülöpová, S., & Čerešnová, Z. (2018).

Gavurova, B., Ivankova, V., Rigelsky, M., Mudarri, T., & Miovsky, M. (2022). Somatic symptoms, anxiety, and depression among college students in the czech republic and slovakia: a cross-sectional study. PubMed DOI PMC

Gebregergis, W. T. (2024). The student wellbeing toolkit: Preparing for life at college, university and beyond. DOI

Hajdúk, M., Heretik, A., Vašečková, B., Forgáčová, L., & Pečeňák, J. (2019). Prevalence and correlations of depression and anxiety among Slovak college students. PubMed DOI

Herbst, M., & Wojciuk, A. (2016). Common legacy, different paths: the transformation of educational systems in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. DOI

Hyers, L. L. (2018).

Jogaratnam, G., & Buchanan, P. (2004). Balancing the demands of school and work: Stress and employed hospitality students. DOI

Kotera, Y., Maybury, S., Liu, G., Colman, R., Lieu, J., & Dosedlová, J. (2022). Mental well- being of Czech University students: Academic motivation, self-compassion, and self- criticism. PubMed DOI PMC

Kovács, K., Dobay, B., Halasi, S., Pinczés, T., & Tódor, I. (2024). Demands, resources and institutional factors in the work of academic staff in Central and Eastern Europe: results of a qualitative research among university teachers in five countries. DOI

Kristensen, S. M., Larsen, T., Urke, H. B., & Danielsen, A. G. (2023). Academic stress, academic self-efficacy, and psychological distress: A moderated mediation of within- person effects. PubMed DOI PMC

Kucharská, A., & Janyšková, K. (2022). Poradenské služby na vysokých školách s důrazem na Karlovu Univerzitu a Pedagogickou fakultu. Vysokoškolské poradenství – aktuální výzvy a trendy (pp. 9–28). Univerzita Karlova, Pedagogická Fakulta.

Lee, K., & Lee, S. Y. (2020). The role of self-compassion in the academic stress model. DOI

Masaryk, R. (2021).

Mashuri, S., Abdul Rasak, M. S., Alhabsyi, F., & Syam, H. (2022). Semi-structured interview: A methodological reflection on the development of a qualitative research instrument in educational studies.

Mishra, M. L. (2018). A comparative study on academic stress level of male and female b.ed. students.

Misra, R., & McKean, M. (2000). College students’ academic stress and its relation to their anxiety, time management, and leisure satisfaction.

Mohamed, N. H., Beckstein, A., Winship, G., Mou, T. A. K., Pang, N. T. P., & Relojo-Howell, D. (2023). Effects of self-expressive writing as a therapeutic method to relieve stress among university students. DOI

Mravec, B. (2011). Stres a adaptácia. SAP. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330994878_Stres_a_adaptacia

Noble, T., Wyatt, T., McGrath, H., Roffey, S., & Rowling, L. (2008).

Okanagan Charter. (. 2015). Okanagan Charter: An international charter for health promoting universities & colleges. International Conference on Health Promoting Universities and Colleges / VII International Congress, Kelowna, Canada. https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/53926/items/1.0132754

Orygen . (2020).

Pitt, A., Oprescu, F., Tapia, G., & Gray, M. (2017). An exploratory study of students’ weekly stress levels and sources of stress during the semester. DOI

Respondek, L., Seufert, T., Stupnisky, R., & Nett, U. E. (2017). Perceived academic control and academic emotions predict undergraduate university student success: examining effects on dropout intention and achievement. PubMed DOI PMC

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. PubMed DOI

Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. DOI

Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. PubMed DOI

Sedláková, E. (2021). Academic stress - review study. DOI

Stallman, H. M., Lipson, S. K., Zhou, S., & Eisenberg, D. (2020). How do university students cope? An exploration of the health theory of coping in a US sample. PubMed DOI

Thille, P., Chartrand, L., & Brown, C. (2022). Diary-interview studies: longitudinal, flexible qualitative research design. PubMed DOI

Tice, D. M., & Baumeister, R. F. (1997). Longitudinal study of Procrastination, Performance, Stress, and Health: The Costs and Benefits of Dawdling. DOI

Tong, A., Sainsbury, P., & Craig, J. C. (2007). Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): A 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups. PubMed DOI

Universities UK. (2021).

World Health Organization. (. 2021). Promoting well-being. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/activities/promoting-well-being

Yikealo, D., Tareke, W., & Karvinen, I. (2018). The level of stress among college students: A case in the college of education, eritrea institute of technology. DOI

Yusoff, M. S. B., Yee, L. Y., Wei, L. H., Siong, T. C., Meng, L. H., Bin, L. X., & Rahim, A. (2011). A study on stress, stressors and coping strategies among Malaysian medical students. DOI